James w



J. W. CARRIER.

GAR COUPLING.

Patented Mar. 29, 1859;

7 /////7V be 1 nvenzm' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES W. CARRIER, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND ABEL B. HOXVE, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,423, dated March 29, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES V. CARRIER, of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and btate of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Railroad-Car Coupling; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through the axis of the hunter. Fig. 2 is a reversed plan, partially in section to show the arrangement more fully.

The object of this invention is to produce a car couplin which shall be self coupling when two. cars are brought together, thereby saving the operatives the danger encountered in going in between the cars for the purpose of coupling them together as now practiced, and also one that can be uncoupled from any convenient position 011 the platform of the car, or any other situation wherever it may be convenient to place the arrangement for that purpose.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in both figures.

A is the bumper, the head or coupling end of which is formed in two parts, the lower half a, being hinged to the upper or main part at Z), and upon which hinge it would be free to revolve by the force of gravity if it was not held up by the strap a, which passes around the hunter and prevents any unnecessary side motion and aso holds the loose part or jaw a, in its proper position when the cars are coupled together.

(Z, is the connection pin which is made with a head or knob on each end of such form that it will freely enter the corresponding cavity in the hunter head, when said hunter is drawn out (and the jaw a, dropped as shown by the dotted ines a Fig. 1) but which will hold securely when the hunter is in the posit-ion shown in the drawing.

B, is a horizontal pin or bar passing entirely through the bumper and holding itfirmly in its place. On this pin is the rack j, operated upon by the pinion g, on the shaft 72., on which is also the hand-wheel 7.", 7c, are two spiral springs to force the pin B into its proper position. The slot or hole in the hunter which receives the pin B, is made of a suitable size to receive a rubber or other spring Z, belnnd the p1n thereby formlng a very snnple and convenient means of inserting the spring to give the necessary elasticity to the hunters. This spring is protected by a metallic strap m, which passes around the spring and is attached to the hunter by the screws n, n, which play in slots in the strap to allow the necessary motion when the spring is compressed by the strain on the hunter.

7), is a pin which passes vertically through the hunter and receives the strain when the car is being hacked, and also forms a safety guard to prevent the possibility of the bumper being drawn entirely out if any other part should give way. In this slot and in front of the pin 79, is inserted a second spring 7*, to serve the same purpose in backing that the spring Z does in the forward motion.

8, is a ratchet on the shaft and thereby connected to the pinion g, and t, is a pawl operating in connection with said ratchet to hold the pin B, in its place (in opposition to the springs 76 7c.) when it is drawn out of the hunter into the position shown by the dotted lines at 00.

r, is a pin inserted in the side of the hunter, and which comes in contact with the arm a, of the pawl t, at the proper time to release the pin B.

to, is a handle or lever, connected with the pawl t, and to be placed in any convenient position where it can be operated by the person uncoupling the cars.

y, is a lever or handle connected to the shaft h, for the purpose of operating the pinion when it is not convenient to reach the hand wheel 2'.

Having described the several parts of my invention I will now proceed to explain its operation. e will suppose the car to be coupled to a train which is at rest and it is desired to detach it. By means of the hand wheel 2', (or lever 1 shaft h, and pinion g, the pin B, is drawn out to the position shown by the dotted lines a2, and is entirely disconnected from the hunter, and by means of the handle or lever 10, the pawl t, may be applied to the ratchet and the pin B held securely in its place. The car is now absolutely uncoupled, for as soon as the train starts, the hunter having nothing to hold bunter is thrown back to a coupled position.

If the pin 1), was placed in contact with the arm a, of the pawl so that as soon as 'the bunter commenced to be drawn out, the

ratchet would be released, the pin B would be thrown back through the bunter and nothing accomplished, but by allowing the hunter to be drawn out about the size of the pin B, before the ratchet is released, the end of the pin B, comes in contact with the side of the bunter and is held there till the hunter is thrown back. When another car comes in contact with this, the connection pin (one end of which is held in the other coupling) rides upon the concave surface of the jaw a, and enters its cavity in the bunter head, and the two bunters comingin contact with each other, the hunter A, is

forced back, the jaw 4:, brought to a horizontal position by the strap 0, the pin B, is

thrown into place by the two springs is, 70, and the coupling is'completed.

The upper or main portion of the bunter head is a little longer than the jawa, so that the force of the shock when two cars come in contact is always received by a part strong enough to withstand it without injury.

Fig. 3 shows a form of connection pin by which to connect two cars of different heights.

Fig. 4 shows a link combined with a pin for connecting one of my improved hunters to one of the ordinary kind now in use;

The above description. will enable any one skilled in the art to construct and use my invention.

' JAMES V. CARRIER.

lVitnesses:

GEORGE L. FAIRFIELD, MILTON BRADLEY.

pin 41, when combined and ar- 

